rmed herdsmen invaded a camp of internally-displaced persons in Benue on Friday, leaving dozens of mostly women and children dead or injured.

The attackers reportedly broke into a primary school harbouring the displaced citizens in Nyiev Ward, Guma Local Government Area, around 7:00 p.m., according to a witness who spoke with Peoples Gazette.

“They arrived from different sides of the community and started killing people in the camp,” the witness, who identified himself as Ihembe Tyubee, said by telephone on Saturday morning. “They even chased some people who broke out of the camp to the road and killed them there.”

Pregnant women and children were among the fatalities, the witness added, emphasising that the attackers spoke Fulfude, the language of Fulani ethnic nationalities.

At least 51 people were said to have been evacuated to the state’s medical centre in Makurdi after being mortally injured by the assailants, who immediately fled the scene.

The victims were residents who had fled their villages to the camps following previous attacks that gripped the vast agrarian region in central Nigeria.

Robert Spencer: 

This is reminiscent of the Khaybar raid. According to Islamic tradition. Muhammad exiled two of the three Jewish tribes of Medina, the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir, to Khaybar. Then later, he raided Khaybar and massacred those he had previously exiled. In this case, these people were in the displaced persons camp after previous jihad attacks. Then the jihadis came for them in the displaced persons camp.